Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Pig parts

So I guess people are looking for Chicago stories. Well, if I could remember any, I would tell them. No, no, I wasn't blitzed the entire time there. I just don't recall anything grand beside the meal on Friday which led to the "BG-Bracelet Refuck Incident of 2009". Yeah, they had no problem handling the fuck, but when it got to the refuck, all hell broke loose.

Now that I have you totally confused, let's talk dinner. The aforementioned Boy Genius has raved about the Publican since his first dining experience there a couple months back. If there is one thing I will trust BG to deliver on, it is good food. He has good instincts and taste. He knows good food and understands the price you would want to pay for it. So when he says a restaurant is worth eating at, I am going to listen and let him guide me down the road to a full belly. Especially when the menu is described as "made up from what parts of the pig are left that day".

I was sharing a table with BG, Grubby, and Drizz (was it Drizz? I can't recall even though he was sitting right across from me). Menus come showing what parts of the pig were left for them to concoct a meal from. I look it over and quickly go to the beer menu to determine what I am going to drink. Full of Belgians and other delectable treats. I don't know what I had to drink but it was good. At some point the focus goes back to food and we are ordering. I am letting BG and Grubby take the reins and make the call. I figure I can add in something if I don't hear what I like. I just keep hearing pig meat names so I stay quiet.

Soon our first dish arrives. Oysters from around the country. 6 shells laid out on ice. The server mentions where each came from. Interesting to see the different sizes based on where they lived. I am not a big oyster guy but I try one again. Yeah, still don't get it.

Next to come out was a ham dish. 3 different thin sliced hams along with some kind of cheese cracker (?) Good stuff. Each slice had a flavor that was just fantastic and melted in your mouth.

I think the stolen bone marrow was next. No, stolen bone marrow is not the name of the dish. It was what BG did. The server notified us that they were out of bone marrow and the last one was going to the table next to us. That table so happened to be BG's brother's table. With a bit of smooth talking, he convinced her to give us the bone marrow instead. You know, a kinda one upsmanship on the little bro. Soon the bone on a plate was set in front of us as they were informed they weren't getting one. The Bracelet was lets say, a tad upset. I am sure us laughing didn't make it better. See, they handled the Fuck. And no one wants to get fucked.

So the basis of the bone marrow was you scooped it (the marrow) out of the bone and spread it on some bread. The marrow looks consistent to snot (sorry, it is the best description). It does not look like something you want to eat. BG mentions that you have to get by its appearance and spread and eat. So I did. He was right. It is like spreading a fatty butter with meat flavoring on bread. It was very good.

I think the gelatinous pea thing was next. A hockey puck of pea jello with some sweet peas around it. It is the kind of dish I normally would look at and think, WTF?, but again, it tasted fantastic. Grubby and I just about devoured it ourselves. Very nice mellow flavors.

It was a nice intro into a mouth watering delectable porkbelly. Damn was this good! So good I think it gave me wood. Downside was the size. Four men with eager forks just wanting more of the porkbelly. An extremely tender and tasty piece of meat.

I think our final dish was the country pork ribs. Nice big pieces of pork rib cooked just right. Just when you thought nothing could match the porkbelly, the rib goodness hits you. I am getting hungry just thinking about them.

This meal was quite a dining experience. Great food, great beer, and great company. Everyone sharing off of the same dish. Definitely worth every penny. Hopefully BG will post some pics of the meal. It more than lived up to any hype.

Just as we got our check, the manager dropped a second one off. It was for the Bracelet's table. He supposedly "left without paying". He didn't actually, he was just trying to pull off the Refuck. But the restaurant didn't want any part of it. I am not sure of the details but hopefully one of them will hash it out. It was quite funny see Bob on tilt for the rest of the evening.